Persisting Hypolipoproteinaemia Following Multiple Wasp Stings

Abstract

Background Severe allergic reactions and life-threatening multiple organ injury or failure are common after severe stings. However, reports on wasp stings complicated with continual hypolipoproteinaemia are scarce in the literature and there is no consensus for its therapeutic management. Methods This case is a 49-year-old female patient who developed severe allergic reaction and multiple organ failure after severe wasp stings and complicated with sustained hypolipoproteinaemia. Her clinical characteristics and the change of lipid levels are described. During the hospitalization, we did not perform any intervention for dyslipidemia. Results The patient’s blood lipid levels were decreased after numerous wasp stings. In particular, the HDL-C was linear over all five days(nadir, 0.21mmol/L on day 5), and the level gradually recovered to normal till day 17. At the same time, the patient occurs severe inflammatory response and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, especially liver failure. The 3 months follow-up of the patient was remarkable with normal lipid level and she was doing well in normal daily activities. Conclusion We highlight the hypolipoproteinaemia that might occur in the patient who after severe wasp stings. This study initially confirmed that there is some correlation between abnormal blood lipid metabolism and the evolution of the condition. Whether dyslipidemia in wasp stings is associated with hemolysis and inflammatory reaction is unclear, and further investigation would be required. As far as we know, this is the first report of persisting hypolipoproteinaemia after wasp stings. The clinical research and prolonged follow-up are yet to be concluded, and large-scale clinical studies need to be performed.